Savoring the Cherry Trees

Retirement agrees with Brad! His retirement agrees with me! When my husband reached the ripe old age of 67 and said goodbye to his stressful career last winter, I worried whether he would find enough with which to occupy himself. However, to my delight, he seems happier than I can ever remember. He has begun to build the “benchwork,” or cabinetry, for his enormous model train system, as well as a treehouse in the backyard for our grandchildren. I can hear the happy buzz of the table saw right now.

More unexpected, perhaps, is the way his retirement affords me a pleasant change. We used to divvy up the household errands, but now he has taken them over completely: the supermarket, the drycleaner’s, Walgreen’s–all this in addition to spending hours at the lumberyard and hardware store. 

Better still, yesterday I took a day off from writing so that we could spend it together sharing something new. We drove into Washington, D.C. to see the National Cherry Blossom Festival and have lunch at a wonderful restaurant nearby. People come from all over the world mid-spring to see the nearly four thousand cherry trees stretch their loaded pink and white branches up to the sky. 

Brad and I put on our walking shoes to stroll among the many different species lining the footpath surrounding the Tidal Basin. As a gift in 1912 from the Japanese government, over the years the trees continued to be transported across the ocean in an effort to foster good relations between the two nations. 

Later, back home in Annapolis, our two nations celebrated with mutual glee. How lucky we are. Who says retirement is for old folks?

Yours,